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Review & Installation Video

Review & Install Video

Hey guys, Stephanie with americanmuscle.com, here with an overview of the Barton Hybrid 3 Flat Stick Shifter for 2015 and up GT Mustangs. In this video we're gonna talk about the design of the shifter, how it can benefit you, and we're going to talk about the install. I'll get into more detail later, but the difficulty of the install depends on your car and your current mods. If you don't really have much done, you're looking at a one outta three wrenches on the difficulty meter.The Barton Hybrid 3 Flat Stick Shifter is first off gonna be for someone looking for a flat stick style shifter. A flat stick is different than your normal, standard shifter. Secondly, this shifter is gonna be for someone that doesn't wanna be tied into one single design. Barton made this shifter to be for everyone, so they came up with a design that has mounting options. How you mount the shifter goes back to what you like. Lastly, this short throw shifter is gonna be for the S550 owners that want a serious shifter upgrade and are willing to pay for quality.I wanna start with the core of the shifter before we get into any of the mounting features of it. The heart of the shifter is very much like the original Barton Short Throw Shifter. It's a lotta the same upgraded components and it's gonna firm up your shifts. Barton's literally upgraded every single component of the shifter for you so it gives a very solid performance. One of the biggest features of the shifter, besides the mounting location options and all of the upgraded components, which I'll go over in a second, is it has a 25% reduction in throw. Now I wouldn't really consider the throw of the stock shifter long to begin with, so if you think about it, a 25% reduction is pretty big. Barton chose to use a 25% reduction so the shifter wouldn't feel too notchy, but feel smooth and accurate instead. When you start reducing throw too much, the shifts can get notchy, and not everyone likes that.There's a lotta things that make this shifter so great, but one of the most basic is that it is an entire replacement that is self-contained shifter components. We're not just looking at an arm with a linkage to shorten the throw. This is a completely revamped unit, so no taking apart the stock shifter, and no bringing components over. Some of the components that you end up bringing over with other short throw shifter options are actually the parts that cause some of the issues that the stock shifter has. Another thing to consider is that this entire shifter is made from C&C billet aluminum and stainless steel. The housing is also weather-tight and pre-sealed for you, so no RTV is needed. This is a rock solid shifter, and if we compare it to the factory shifter, you're going to see differences right away. One of the other reasons why this shifter has such nice, solid shifts is because of the bushings that Barton uses. You have a solid stainless steel front bushing here. The bushing and rear bracket help to control the normal vibrations that go through the shifter, and they stop nearly all of the deflection, while some is absorbed through the bushing in the rear bracket.Really breaking this down some. This shifter eliminates what I consider two major weak points in the factory shifter components, their traditional pivot cup and the ball socket design. The factory pivot cup is plastic. It allows for a ton of the flexion on the center shaft, and that means play and wiggle. The center shaft now has a pivot block with meaty pivot cups that's aluminum, not plastic, that are held in place by a pin and O-ring. So no more pivot cups and ball sockets, but a much more solid pivot block instead that even has O-rings. This is a tight fit to pick up slack, but it's not so tight to cause any binding. The block then goes into the cartridge and then into the main housing. But this shifter has a different cartridge design that's unique. You can take this cartridge apart and almost customize the shifter if you want. The cartridge does have two sets of very stiff springs in it, and you can easily access the springs that are in the cartridge and remove those if you don't like them since they are very stiff springs. But it's really gonna be up to you as a driver to determine what you want. I just recommend that you at least break in the springs before deciding that you don't like them and you wanna remove them.Of course, this shifter is made for the MT-82 6-speed trans, so it is gonna be reverse lockout compatible. It'll retain both the reverse lockout and the backup camera, so you won't be losing any of those nice stock features if you wanna upgrade to the shifter. The reverse lockout is identical to the factory reverse lockout, has a factory look and feel. Another nice thing is that the shifter doesn't require any permanent modifications to be installed, and it comes with a new shift knob for you. Other than the general overall construction and upgraded components, what really makes this shifter different than the others, even the original Barton Short Throw Shifter, is the mounting options and the three bushing system. So it's called a Hybrid 3 Shifter for three reasons, one, because of the mounting options, two, because of the linkage design, and three, because of the three bushing system.If we look at the mounting options, you can mount this shifter directly to the trans or directly to the body of the car. You have an option here depending on what you like better. If you mount to the trans directly, that means you can run the solid linkage. You have these two arms that run up to the shifter area, and that's where you're applying all the force as you're shifting. Then there's the mounting block that bolts directly to the trans which eliminates the tie to the body of the car. This means that the shifter will move with the trans under load, and everything will be directly in line. The only thing I will say here, is that your shifter will be moving, which is good, but you will feel some vibrations from the trans in your shift knob. If you really don't want that feeling in your shift knob, you can always mount to the body of the car instead. If you mount to the body, you'll use a different bracket. In this case, if the body of the car moves separate from the trans, the shifter will stay with the body while the trans moves. The linkage, which is the second part of the Hybrid 3 name, allows the shifter to do this and still maintain accurate shifts. The linkage allows for both vertical and twisting movement. And the last components is the three bushing design. There are three bushings in the linkage rod, and this is to get rid of the flexion in the linkage rod during shifting. Now throughout this entire shifter, there is no metal to metal contact, which is gonna keep things very smooth. So overall, you're looking at a smooth, precise shift no matter how you have this mounted.As far as price, you're looking at spending between $400 and $500 for this shifter. Like I mentioned earlier, this is gonna be for someone that's willing to pay for an excellent, beefed up, accurate shifter, and for someone that knows the value of something like this. You're paying for quality here, in my opinion. Besides all the different component upgrades, you're getting an entirely new unit that's very easy to install, and you're actually able to customize it and set it up how you'd like it. This is the only shifter that's available right now that does this and gives you different mounting options. If you still have stock components on your car, like stock exhaust and drive shaft, you'll most likely be able to get away with an easy install. It'll take about an hour and be a one outta three wrenches in the scale.I'm gonna glaze over the details here since this install is so involved, but to get the factory shifter out, you're looking at doing the obvious things, removing the factory shift knob and getting your boots out from inside the car. Then after that, you've gotta get the car in the air, drop the exhaust from the mid pipe back, mark and remove the drive shaft, drop the cross member, drop the shifter housing, and pull the shifter assembly from the car. The new shifter is very easy to install since it is all one unit and you don't have to transfer over any parts or disassemble the factory shifter. It literally installs like the factory shifter uninstalled, and this is so well-made that it went together very nicely. Everything fit well. We didn't need to hammer anything into place, but it was snug enough to eliminate the play, and we did decide to mount to the trans here, but how you install yours will be up to you.Wrapping things up here with the Barton Hybrid 3 Shifter. This shifter is a serious, complete shifter upgrade. The entire shifter is made from C&C billet aluminum and stainless steel. It's gonna come with a cartridge that reduces throw 25%. This shifter gives you a new shift knob and it also retains the reverse lockout and backup camera. You have two different mounting options, to the body or to the trans, and the shifter has a new innovated linkage and a three bushing design in the linkage. As always, you can check this shifter out more online. And for all things Mustang, keep it right here at americanmuscle.com.

Built for Accurate Shifts. Featuring an all-new design, the Barton Hybrid 3 Shifter is engineered to deliver 25% throw reduction, allowing you to perform short, effortless shifts in your manual 2015-2019 Ford Mustang GT. Built as a dual mounting shifter that meets your shifting preferences, it features adjustable side-to-side spring pressure for an impeccable 2-3 shift every time. Moreover, the shifter's 3-bushing system is designed to help you achieve optimum shift accuracy, one of the most precise possible in the market today.

Beautifully Crafted. Delivering a solid upgrade, this Hybrid 3 Short Throw Shifter is crafted from CNC machined billet aluminum and stainless steel. The housing is weather tight and pre-sealed and the solid front bushing and rear bracket will help minimize vibration that go through the shifter and stop most of the deflection.

Dual Mounting Option. The Barton Hybrid 3 Shifter features a distinctive linkage configuration that can be mounted as a solid linkage with the transmission mount. Otherwise, you can also remove the transmission mount and install the shifter directly to the body as a pivot. This hybrid design is intended to afford you flexibility that meets your individual needs.

Application. The Barton Hybrid 3 Short Shifter is designed to fit 2015-2019 GT Mustangs equipped with the MT-82 manual 6-speed transmission. The shift handle reuses the stock shift knob or an aftermarket knob with a 12mm x 1.25 thread pattern.

Questions & Answers (13)

5 Top Rated Questions

What are the differences between body mounted and trans mounted?

Mounting the Barton Hybrid 3 Shifter to the transmission will link the shifter with the transmission more soundly, allowing for more accurate, crisper shifting, however being mounted directly to the transmission, this will transmit more noise and vibration to the shifter handle and cabin. Mounting with the body mounts will not provide as smooth and crisp of shifts as trans mounting, but will not significantly increase vehicle noise and vibrations.

We would suggest having a local shop take a look into the install to verify that everything was installed properly and that there are no other issues with the vehicle. It would be difficult to diagnose the issues you are having with your vehicle without being physically present to look into this.

The Barton Hybrid 3 Shifter is not compatible with Ecoboost Mustangs. The 2015BMEB-1 linked below would be the correct shifter for Ecoboost and V6 Models.
https://www.americanmuscle.com/barton-short-shifter-2015v6eco.html

The Magnusson Moss Warranty Act: US Code – Title 15, Chapter 50, Sections 2301-2312, was created to protect consumer warranties.
According to this act, a manufacturer such as Ford cannot void the warranty of a vehicle due to the use of an aftermarket part unless they can prove the aftermarket part directly cause or contributed to the failure of the vehicle.

It is a little pricey. But the build quality is noticeable. I took it to a local mechanic. They installed it. Once completed and I got in my car...oh boy! Total difference from the factory shifter.
Shifts are clean, sturdy (none of that slap). Very happy I made this mod.

took about 4 hours to install but well worth it, shifts are nice, had trouble catching 2nd the first few times but once you get used to the shifter position you will love it, make sure you have blue threadlocker for your shifter knob and check your position of your reverse lock out before you use the threadlocker and you will have a easy install, i installed using body mount in my 2017 Roush

this should have been the factory shifter, sturdy, heavy duty feel (with the springs installed) short-ish shifts. it was a straight forward install, takes a while though with limited tools, took me about 6 hours total. FOR 2018 GTP owners, the stock rubber boot DOES NOT fit on the shifter housing, you will have to cut the bottom lip off of your stock boot to allow it to slide over the barton shifter housing.

Great shifter all round. Quality and construction top notch. Made shifting smooth and effortless. Not worrying about missing 3rd gear anyone. Definitely recommend this shifter to anyone in the market to step up to a short throw.

Installed using jack and jack stands which made the install difficult, but doable with the right swivel sockets, extensions, and ratcheting crescent wrenches. Much more solid than the stock, and just a bit notchy getting into 1st and 2nd gears, but should loosen up once the springs break in.

Great upgrade, while 1st gear is slightly off to the right. Transmount option works great, installed with clutch at the same time so it was an easy install. However barton shifter knob was not in the box so beware. Waited too long to open the box to check since clutch took awhile to get the parts from somewhere else no fault to AM. Overall it's a good install. Took out shifter springs as it was too much effort to shift into 5th and 6th gear.

Got my Barton shifter installed in the Mustang today. It is like the entire drivetrain was replaced. Shifts are solid, no flex in the system, throws are much shorter and faster with positive lock into gear. Had the new shifter transmission mounted instead of body mounted. Incredible difference in the feel of the transmission (GT)
The mechanic had to pull the drive shaft, drop half the exhaust then they could lower the transmission to get the new one installed. Glad I had a professional do it. Best upgrade to date. Old junk out, new shifter installed. I have built a few cars, but this is not something I would have wanted to tackle without a car lift. Took them about 3 hours to install. Very tight space, worth every dollar.

This is a really nice shifter, I have it trans mounted with springs in, and it's way better than the stock shifter. The shorter throw makes quite the difference. With the springs in, it is quite stiff, but you get use to it, and they will break in.

This shifter is amazing and with the two mounting options even better I trans mounted and and it’s solid I don’t mind nvh so no complaints from me if you don’t thou just body mount the shifter overall the best hands down

Can tell a world of difference. The stock shifter on the S550 is horrible! Mostly first and second gear. This right here eliminates all of that! Worth the money and if you have a lift it’s extremly easy to install.

Really, its ok. Just ok. I don't understand all of the stellar reviews. The shifter still feels clunky, but slightly less so. the throw is a bit shorter. I decided to replace this after I broke one of the retaining clips in the lockout collar while installing the e-brake boot. This is an expensive part for mediocre results.

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I am 49 years old and this is my first Mustang, in the high school years I owned and built Mopars starting with a 76 Volarie with a complete engine build with a 340 6 Pak ground cam .576 lift 278 duration the thing was pretty crazy for back then. As the years passed I got into the truck scene and bu...